3. Before, During and After

This HOWTO has three sections for things you should think about or do
before, during
and after
the day of the installfest. It is assumed
that you will be having installfests periodically and hopefully regularly.

3.1. Before (preparation)

3.1.1. date, time and duration

In order to reach the most people, fests should be held
on both weekends and weekdays. The time of day is not
as important as the duration of the fest, which should
be 6 to 10 hours. Here is why:

some people will not be able to arrive when the fest starts

it takes time to get systems moved in, connected,
disconnected and moved out of the working area

making sub-systems like sound, printers and other
peripherals function
properly sometimes takes as long as a Linux installation

some people want to get some life out of older CPUs but
OS installation takes longer on slower machines

3.1.2. location

Make sure that the place where your installfest will be held has:

strong tables

Each table may have to hold multiple monitors and computers.

restrooms

chairs

People will want to sit down since they will be at
the fest for several hours.

Internet access

Some people will want to know that they can access the
Internet from their computer. Some people will need
to download drivers or other software. A lot of helpful
information is available on the Net. There is a list of
Web sites at the end of this document.

an address that is easy to find

A map and simple directions will help.

an easy way to get hardware in and out

How will people bring their hardware from their cars
to the installation room? Are
carts and elevators available?

sufficient AC power

Try to make sure that you have
enough power for the number of computers that you
expect people to bring. You do not want people
to suddenly lose power because one person too many
turned on his or her computer.

How much power does a computer need?
Laptops need about 0.5 amps.
For a desktop/tower/workstation type of computer
the amount of power needed depends on the monitor,
number of disk drives, etc.
Basically though, if everything is connected to one
power strip, then they need at most 3 to 4 amps at the moment
that the power is turned on and 1.5 to 2 amps while
they are running.

You should try to have access to the circuit breakers
either directly or
through readily available maintenance staff.

If you are lucky you will be able to make arrangements to
regularly hold installfests at
a few locations that meet your needs. If possible you should
hold your fests at a variety of locations such as
technical colleges, universities and businesses because
Linux is for everyone.

3.1.3. administration

Linux distributions (distros)

Make sure that you will have several copies of the latest
versions of the major Linux distributions available
on CD. To learn which distributions to make available, please
do a little research on the Web sites listed in the
appendix of this document.

installfest server

You may want to consider setting up a server for:

DNS

DHCP

mirrors of distributions

You should provide multiple methods of
accessing the distributions on the server:

Hopefully someone will create a new Linux distribution to make
it easy to set up such a server.

name tags

Something similar to the classic "hello my name is:" stickers.

misc. office supplies

You may want to make some of the following items available:
scratch paper, ball-point pens,
sharpies, scissors, stapler, duct tape, packing tape,
blank CD-R media.

advertising

People will need to know:

when and where the installfest will be held

what to expect: waiver, soft drinks, pizza

that if they wish to install a Linux
distribution should bring every
part of their computer system:
monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, USB devices,
power strip. Support people will need all the components
to make sure everything is functioning properly.

that they may want to bring blank CD-R media
to trade for copies of distributions on CD-R (they should
determine the number of disks needed for each
distribution)

Here are some places to consider advertising:

local computer user Web sites

local news media

local computer retail stores

minimum system requirements

Some people will want to install Linux on very old/slow
systems in an attempt to make them usable. This is OK,
but there are limitations. Please look at the
distributions area of
www.linux.org
for minimalist distributions.
You may want to include minimum system requirements
in your installfest advertisement so that people do
not show up with an old machine, hoping to turn it
into a power-house but leave disappointed.

networking equipment

someone will need to bring network switches and cables

signage

You should have a few signs posted to help people
find their way around the location and provide other
information. Some examples are:

main entrance:
So people know that they have found the right location.

reception desk:
People will need to find the reception desk from the
main entrance.

installation room:
People will need to know how to get to the installation
from the reception desk.

rest rooms

networking information

food and beverages

Due to the duration of an installfest you should
consider the availability of food and drink.

Pizza usually works out well.
Tell people that you will be collecting a specific amount
of money at the door for pizza. If they
do not want to
share some pizza, then they
do not need to pay.
In order to know who has paid, use an ink stamp to
mark their hand. Do not forget paper plates and napkins.

If there are no vending machines at the
location you may want to
provide soft drinks, including water and possibly coffee
during the fest. If you do provide drinks, you should
consider selling them at cost.

3.2. During (on the day of the installfest)

before the starting time

The people who run the fest need to be at the location at
least one hour before the fest is to begin. They will need
time to set up the network, installfest server,
power system, signage, etc.

at the door/reception

Depending on how you have decided to operate your fest,
the receptionist will:

ask users to sign a waiver

ask users to fill out a data sheet

ask all attendees to contribute money for
food and/or drinks

give all attendees name tags

during

Since you are using this HOWTO, everything will work out fine.
People should understand that it is OK to ask around for help.

after the fest is finished

Make sure that all areas are cleaned up because
you may want to use the location again and you do not
want to give the location owner a bad impression.
Look for: items people have forgotten, items that people
brought as "give aways", drink cans and cups.

3.3. After (lessons learned)

We would like to continually improve this document and
everyone's installfest experience, so please share with us: